FAQ for advaita vedAnta

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

The advaita vedAnta faq at the website
<http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita> has recently been updated.
Here is a text version attached with this mail. This FAQ will also appear
shortly on the newsgroups soc.religion.hindu and soc.religion.vaishnava.

Vidyasankar

ps. Comments, additions and corrections welcome.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - advaita vedAnta

1. What is advaita vedAnta? 

Literally, "non-dualism," advaita is the name of the oldest extant school of 
vedAnta. advaita bases itself upon the upanishads, the brahma-sUtras and the 
bhagavad-gItA. advaita asserts that the real, essential identity of the jIva, 
the individual self, is nothing other than brahman iself. The teaching follows
from upanishadic statements like tat tvam asi and aham brahmAsmi. It is in 
this cardinal doctrine that advaita differs from all other schools of vedAnta. 
The main tenets of advaita are detailed in commentaries written by 
SankarAcArya, the famous philosopher who lived in the 7th - 8th centuries A.D. 
Read http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita for a website dedicated to 
advaita vedAnta. 

2. Who is the founder of advaita? 

There is no single founder of advaita. Since the philosophy of advaita is 
rooted in the upanishads, which are part of the eternal vedas, the advaita 
tradition does not trace itself to a historical personality. However, because 
of his extensive writings and establishment of monasteries, SankarAcArya is 
venerated as the most important teacher of advaita in this yuga. Before 
SankarAcArya's time, the tradition was passed down only through oral 
instruction. Even today, the traditional way to learn advaita is to sit at the 
feet of an accomplished guru. Mere reading of the texts is insufficient. More 
details about the guru parampara of advaita are at 
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/advaita-parampara.html. There is a 
description of pre-Sankaran vedAnta at 
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/pre-sankara.html.

3. What are the basic tenets of advaita? 

The essential identity of the Atman and brahman is the most important tenet of 
advaita. brahman is affirmed as the substratum on which all sense-phenomena are
experienced, and also the antaryAmin, who dwells in all beings. The innermost 
Atman, the real Self, is the same as this antaryAmin, and therefore identical 
to brahman. moksha consists in realizing this identity, not just as a matter 
of literal or intellectual understanding, but as something that is to be 
grasped by the individual in his/her own personal experience. Yogic practices 
help in the road towards such realization, because they help the seeker in 
practising control of the senses, and direct the antahkaraNa inwards. The 
practice of ashTAnga-yoga is recommended to seekers by teachers of advaita. 
However, it is important to remember that moksha is not a result of mere 
ritualistic practice. Being identical to brahman, moksha always exists. 
Ritualistic practices help only to the extent of achieving citta-Suddhi. 
advaita is a non-dual teaching. When asked why duality is perceived in this 
world, advaita has a multi-pronged answer to the question. The world of 
multiplicity can be explained as due to mAyA, the power of creation. From the 
point of view of the individual, the perception of duality is attributed to 
avidyA (ignorance) due to which the unity of brahman is not known, and 
multiplicity is seen instead. This is akin to the false perception of a snake 
in a rope. When the rope is known, the snake vanishes. Similarly, on 
brahman-realization, the world of multiplicity vanishes. This does not mean 
that the external world is a creation of avidyA, the individual's ignorance. 
Such a view, called dr.shTi-sr.shTi vAda is close to subjective idealism, and 
is not held by any of the advaita writers except prakASAnanda. Most schools of 
advaita hold that the perception of multiplicity in the world instead of the 
One brahman, is due to ignorance. Removal of avidyA is therefore synonymous 
with brahman-realization, i.e. moksha. 

Read http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/ad-phil.html for a more 
detailed description.

4. What is the relationship between advaita and buddhism? Is advaita a mere 
   copy of buddhism? 

No, advaita is not a mere copy of buddhism. For a few centuries now, advaita 
has been criticized as being "pracanna bauddham" - buddhism in disguise. This 
criticism stems mainly from some of the vaishNava schools of vedAnta, but it 
is misplaced. Firstly, there is no one "buddhism" and for the criticism to be 
valid, it must be specified which school of buddhism is being referred to. 
SankarAcArya expends a lot of effort criticizing many of the philosophical 
positions taken by various schools of buddhism in his commentaries. Among 
modern academic scholars, advaita vedAnta is most often compared with the 
madhyamaka and yogAcAra schools of buddhism. The modern academic comparison 
between advaita and madhyamaka is mainly inspired by the fact that the 
mANDUkya kArikAs, written by gauDapAda, Sankara's parama-guru, exhibit a great 
familiarity with this school of buddhism. 

However, if it is held that advaita vedAnta is essentially the same as 
madhyamaka buddhism, it must be pointed out that such a view stems from a 
misunderstanding of the important tenets of both advaita vedAnta and 
madhyamaka buddhism. There are many key details in which advaita differs from 
the madhyamaka school of buddhism. As for yogAcAra, the points of similarity 
arise from the fact that both advaita vedAnta and yogAcAra buddhism have a 
place for yogic practice, as do other schools of Indian philosophy. For 
further details, consult http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita, and follow 
the link to gauDapAda. 

5. Why is advaita sometimes referred to as mAyAvAda? 

The word mAyAvAda serves many purposes. Since advaita upholds the identity of 
the individual Atman with brahman, a doubt naturally arises about the origin 
of the variegated universe. The appearance of difference in the universe is 
explained to be due to mAyA. In popular parlance, mAyA means illusion, and a 
magician or a juggler is called a mAyAvI. Within advaita, mAyA has a technical 
significance as the creative power of brahman, which also serves to occlude, 
due to which the universe is perceived to be full of difference, and the unity 
of brahman is not known. See fuller details in response to Q. 3 above. Some 
vaishNava schools use the word mAyAvAda in a derogatory sense. However, this 
criticism interprets mAyA solely as illusion and criticizes advaita for 
dismissing the world as an illusion that is akin to a dream. Such a criticism 
neglects the philosophical subtlety of the concept of mAyA in advaita. 

6. Isn't advaita falsified by everyday experience? 

No. In fact, advaita acknowledges that everyday experience leads one to
infer plurality, but it maintains emphatically that the transcendental
experience of brahmAnubhava sublates the ordinary everyday experience
that is based on perception through one's senses. The tradition holds that it
is not correct to make one's conclusions on issues of metaphysics based
only on normal everyday experience. All schools of vedAnta rely on
scripture, i.e. the Vedas, as a valid source of knowledge. As advaita vedAnta 
is learnt only from the upanishads, it is not falsified by everyday 
experience. On the other hand, the knowledge of brahman's identity sublates 
normal perception. It is also pointed out there would be no need for scripture
if one's conclusions were based only on everyday experience. Read more at
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/creation.html. 

7. What is the concept of scripture, according to advaita? 

advaita's concept of scripture is essentially the same as that of the pUrva
mImAm.sA, with one important exception. Thus, 

      1.The vedas, arranged into the r.k, yajus, sAma and atharva vedas are
        valid scripture. As they are not composed by human beings, they are
        said to be apaurusheya - unauthored. 
      2.Each veda has a karmakANDa, consisting of mantras and ritual
        injunctions (vidhis) and a jnAnakANDa, consisting of the upanishads
        and brAhmaNas. 
      3.The exception that advaita takes to pUrva mImAmsA is in the role of
        the jnAnakANDa. The upanishads are not merely arthavAda, as
        maintained by the pUrva mImAmsA schools. The upanishads teach
        the knowledge of brahman, and are not meant to eulogize the fruits of
        ritual action.

Thus, the four Vedas, including their upanishads are accepted as unauthored,
revealed scripture, i.e. Sruti. The upanishads are therefore called Sruti
prasthAna, and form one of the three source texts of advaita vedAnta. The
subsidiary set of texts called smr.ti is accepted when not in conflict with
Sruti. The smr.ti prasthAna of advaita is the bhagavad-gItA, which is perhaps 
the best known Indian religious text in modern times. The third source text 
for advaita is the collection of brahmasUtras, by the sage bAdarAyaNa. The 
brahmasUtras establish the logical principles of orthodox vedAntic 
interpretation of Sruti, and are therefore called the nyAya-prasthAna. The 
truth of advaita vedAnta is therefore said to be established through revealed 
scripture (Sruti), through remembered tradition (smr.ti) and through logic 
(nyAya). 

8. How does worship by advaitins differ from worship in other schools of
   vedAnta? 

Very markedly. The orthoprax advaita tradition is closely allied to the
smArta tradition. which follows the system of pancAyatana pUjA, where
vishNu, Siva, Sakti, gaNapati and sUrya (alternatively skanda) are
worshipped as forms of saguNa brahman. The worship is done both on a
daily basis and on specific festival occassions dedicated to one of the Gods.
Questions of who is superior, vishNu or Siva, which are very popular
among many groups of Hindus, are not relished by advaitins. In the words
of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati (1892 - 1954), the accomplished jIvanmukta,
"you cannot see the feet of the Lord, why do you waste your time debating
about the nature of His face?" 

That said, vishNu and Siva, the Great Gods of Hinduism, are both very
important within the advaita tradition. The sannyAsIs of the advaita order
always sign their correspondence with the words "iti nArAyaNasmaraNam".
In worship, advaitins do not insist on exclusive worship of one devatA
alone. As brahman is essentially formless (nirguNa), all forms (guNas) are
held to equally belong to It. The particular form that the devotee prefers to
worship is called the ishTa-devatA. The ishTa-devatAs worshipped by
advaitins include vishNu as kr.shNa, the jagadguru, and as rAma, Siva as
dakshiNAmUrti, the guru who teaches in silence, and as candramaulISvara,
and the Mother Goddess as pArvatI, lakshmI and sarasvatI. Especially
popular are the representations of vishNu as a SAlagrAma, Siva as a linga,
and Sakti as the SrI-cakra. gaNapati is always worshipped at the beginning
of any human endeavor, including the pUjA of other Gods. The daily
sandhyAvandana ritual is addressed to sUrya. The sannyAsis of the advaita
sampradAya recite both the vishNu sahasranAmam and the SatarudrIya
portion of the yajurveda as part of their daily worship. 

There is another significant distinction between worship in the advaita
tradition and other kinds of Hindu worship. advaita insists that the
distinction between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is
transcended in samAdhi. This position should not be confused with that of
some Saiva schools, which call for a ritual identification of the worshipper
with Siva, for the duration of the worship. The identity of Atman and
Brahman is a matter of absolute truth, not just a temporary ritual
identification. Most vaishNava schools of vedAnta hold that the distinction
between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is eternally
maintained. 

9. What is the advaita concept of liberation? 

In the advaita analysis, human life and behavior is explained on the basis of
the theory of karma, which sets the cycle of rebirths into motion. All
actions, good or bad, create their own karmic residues called vAsanas, which
exhibit their results over a period of time. The karma which has already
started taking fruit is called prArabdha karma. This is the karma that is
responsible for the current birth. The accumulated karma which is yet to
take fruit is called sancita karma. As long as the cycle of rebirths continues,
more karma will be done in the future, and this is called Agamin karma.
Liberation (moksha) is seen as the way out of this endless cycle. 

In advaita, moksha is synonymous with brahman. Sruti says "brahmavit
brahmaiva bhavati" - He who knows brahman becomes brahman Itself. In
the advaita understanding of this statement, the "becoming" is said to be
metaphorical only. It is not as if something that was not brahman suddenly
becomes brahman. Rather, "knowing brahman" means a removal of the
ignorance about one's own essential nature as brahman. Thus, to "know
brahman" is to "be brahman". The one who has realized the identity of his
own Atman with the brahman is the jIvanmukta, one who is liberated even
while embodied. Such realization should not and cannot just be a literal
understanding of upanishadic mahAvAkyas. The jIvanmukta is one who has
experienced the truth of the identity himself. Thus, moksha is said to be not
a result of ritual action (karma mArga) or of devotional service (bhakti
mArga). These paths lead along the way, and constitute the "how" but not
the "why" of liberation. For this reason, the way of advaita vedAnta is also
called the path of knowledge (jnAna-mArga). 

10. What is the significance of jIvanmukti? 

advaita holds that realization of brahman is possible on this earth itself. The
highly evolved seeker, who approaches vedAntic study with a pure mind,
and a strong tendency of mumukshutva, is fit to really experience brahman.
Such a one who has actually realized brahman, is a jIvanmukta - he is
liberated while still living. He continues to live in a material body, because
of the momentum of the prArabha karma that has already started taking
fruit. But he accumulates no further karma, because all Agamin karma and
sancita karma are "burnt" in the knowledge of brahmajnAna. When the
prArabdha karmas exhaust themselves, the body dies, and the jIvanmukta is
said to have attained videhamukti. In accordance with the Sruti, "na sa
punarAvartate," he does not enter into the cycle of rebirths any more. 

11. Who are some of the leading scholars of Advaita? 

The earliest advaita scholars whose writings are available today are gauDapAda
(5th - 6th cent. CE - mANDUKya kArikas) and SankarAcArya (7th - 8th cent. CE -
brahmasUtra bhAshyas, bhagavadgItA bhAshya and various upanishad bhAshyas). 
Four disciples of SankarAcArya are known in the tradition - sureSvara, 
padmapAda, toTaka and hastAmalaka. Contemporaneous with SankarAcArya was 
maNDana miSra, who is traditionally identified with sureSvara. 

In the later post-Sankaran period, some of the leading scholars are vAcaspati 
miSra (9th cent. CE), jnAnaghana and sarvajnAtman (9th - 10th cent. CE), 
prakASAtman (11th cent. CE), SrIharsha (12th cent. CE), Anandagiri, bhAratI 
tIrtha, vidyAraNya and SankarAnanda (13th - 14th cent. CE), madhusUdana
sarasvatI (15th cent. CE), appayya dIkshita (16th cent. CE), sadASiva 
brahmendra and upanishad brahmendra (18th cent. CE) and candraSekhara bhAratI 
and saccidAnandendra sarasvatI (20th cent. CE). Other than these, there are 
many other equally illustrious scholars who have not written texts, but who 
have taught their disciples through oral instruction. 

12. What are the advaita institutions of the present day? 

All present day advaitins trace their guru-parampara through the four
disciples of SrI SankarAcArya. These disciples were the first leaders of the
four AmnAya maThas (monasteries) at purI, Sr.ngeri, dvArakA and jyotirmaTh. 
All four maThas are functioning today. Other than these, there are a number of
institutions in India that are also active in disseminating advaita philosophy
and religion. These include the various daSanAmI akhADas all over north India,
Kankhal ASram in Hardwar and Bombay, the advaita ASrama, Ramanasramam in 
Tiruvannamalai, the advaita maThas in Kaladi, Bangalore, Kudali, Ujjain, 
Rameswaram, Kanchipuram, Varanasi and other places, as well as branches of all
these institutions in India and abroad. 

In recent times, a large number of institutions have been set up all over the
world by teachers like Swami Vivekananda, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Swami 
Sivananda and others. These institutions also draw inspiration from advaita. 
See http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/ad-today.html, and the answer to
question 14 below, for further details. 

13. Is there a mailing list that discusses advaita? 

There is an unmoderated mailing list, called ADVAITA-L, for discussing advaita 
vedAnta. To subscribe to this list, please send mail to listserv at tamu.edu, with
a blank subject line. The body of text should contain only the following 
message: 

       SUBSCRIBE ADVAITA-L Your_full_name 

       Example: 
       SUBSCRIBE ADVAITA-L Joe Smith 

Once you subscribe, you will get a welcome message explaining how to set the 
other mailing options (like digest format). In case you have any problems in 
subscribing, please contact Ravisankar Mayavaram at msr at tamu.edu. This forum 
is kept open and unmoderated with the hope that the members will use self 
moderation and discuss advaita vedAnta with reverence. Archives of the mailing 
list are available in web browsable form and can be read from 
http://tamvm1.tamu.edu/~advaita. 

14. Where can I get more information about advaita vedAnta and its teachers? 

There is an advaita vedAnta web-site at the URL 
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita. All the questions in this FAQ
are discussed in greater detail in various pages at this site. There is a www
version of this FAQ at this site, while the text of this FAQ is periodically
posted to the ADVAITA mailing list and to the internet newsgroups
soc.religion.hindu and soc.religion.vaishnava. 

The number of online resources relating to contemporary teachers from the
advaita tradition is growing rapidly. This is partly due to the fact that
institutions like the Ramakrishna Mission, Self-Realization Fellowship and
the Divine Life Society tend to have an international presence. The founders
of these modern institutions have combined the philosophical appeal of
advaita vedAnta with other concerns, e.g. social welfare, yoga, etc. Here is a
collection of advaita related links you might be interested in visiting: 

	http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/sringeri - About the Sr.ngeri
	Math, the most ancient advaita monastery, established by Adi
	Sankara. As the traditional center of the purI, bhAratI and sarasvatI
	orders of advaita monks, the Sr.ngeri paramparA is indirectly the
	source of most of the modern international institutions teaching
	advaita.
 
	http://www.sivananda.org - Yoga Vedanta Center of Swami 
	Vishnudevananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda. 
	
	http://www.rsl.ukans.edu/~pkanagar/divine - The Divine Life Society
        of Swami Sivananda. 
             
	http://www.yogananda-srf.org - Self Realization Fellowship of Sri
        Paramahamsa Yogananda. 
             
	http://ece.uwaterloo.ca/~jvallabh/vedanta.html - Comprehensive
        collection of links to the Ramakrishna Mission and related
        organizations. 
             
	http://www.tezcat.com/~bnaik/chinmiss.html - Chinmaya Mission,
        Swami Chinmayananda's organization. 
	
	http://www.rtanet.com/ramana/index.htm - About Sri Ramana Maharishi. 
             
	http://www.peg.apc.org/~firehorse/philos/papaji/welcome.html -
        About Poonjaji, a disciple of Sri Ramana Maharishi. 
             
	http://www.SATRamana.org - Society for Abidance in Truth, Santa Cruz,
	California. 
             
	http://ddi.digital.net/~egodust - Egodust's Pathways to Metaphysics
        page. 

	Other interesting sites: 

	http://www.nalanda.demon.co.uk/ - The six darSanas of Indian 
	Philosophy. 

	http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/1415/veda.html - An introduction 
	to Vedanta by Giridhar Madras. 

	http://vedavid.org/port.html - Collection of Vedic texts. 
             
	ftp://jaguar.cs.utah.edu/private/sanskrit/sanskrit.html - General 
	things of interest for Sanskrit lovers.

If you wish to add any site to this list, please inform the author of this FAQ
at vidya at cco.caltech.edu. 

PS. The author of this FAQ is not a guru of advaita vedAnta. If you are 
seeking spiritual guidance, your goals will be better achieved by contacting 
some of the gurus personally. However, please note that listing of a 
particular website in the above list does not imply that this author is 
connected in any way to the various gurus included in this list.

                                                   

                           Last updated on May 26, 1997.